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“Trust me, amigo, I’m more than aware of all the shit she’s been through. Right now, I’m handling her with kid gloves.” I poured myself a cup of coffee and added a dash of cream to it.
Mark slowly arched one eyebrow. “Breaking into my home isn’t a delicate touch.”
“Fine, delicate for me.” I grinned and took a sip of the perfectly bitter brew.
Joy’s voice, raised in a happy chirp of, “Aren’t you beautiful! What a sweet girl. You must be Honey,” came from the stairs followed by the sound of dog nails clicking on the hardwood floor above.
My heart thumped, and I got this weird, tight sensation in my middle that I couldn’t identify. The anticipation of seeing her heated my blood, and my cock tried to harden. Shit, my whole body tensed. It took everything in me to resist crossing the room and following the sound of her voice. I needed to give her some space, let her have some downtime with the dog. God knows, she’d had enough chaos in her life, and there was something healing about spending time with a good dog.
From Joy’s delighted chatter, she adored Honey. The baby talk she used with the dog had me laughing quietly. She called the pit bull sweetie cakes yummy yummys and my little gummy wummy tummy bear. While it was funny, she’d also lowered her voice into this sexy croon that made me think about the feeling of her body against mine, all that soft warmth beneath me, at my mercy. I wondered how I was going to keep my hands off her, because I craved the feeling of her in my arms again, bringing me peace.
Mark smiled as Joy made a fuss over Honey. Technically, the white and tan pit bull was Hannah and Leo’s dog, but she usually spent as much time with Mark as she did Leo and Hannah. In his previous life, before his faith in humanity was lost, Mark was a world-renowned police dog trainer, as was his wife. After her passing, he said he couldn’t bear to train without her, so seeing him so bonded with Honey gave me hope that he’d start living life again instead of just enduring it.
When Joy entered the room with Honey at her side, I sucked in a quick breath. Fuck, she was so beautiful it made my dick and my heart hurt. She’d changed into a pair of dark navy capris pants and a red silk blouse with a neckline that exposed a good two inches of her more than generous cleavage. There was something almost retro about the look, reinforcing her hourglass shape and tiny waist with a metallic gold belt. I wondered what bra she was wearing that lifted her tits like that and held them so close together, creating that deep valley that I wanted to fuck at some point in the future. My balls tightened as I imagined her wearing one of the lacy bits of lingerie that would show the dark shadows of her large nipples. The sun hit her golden curls, piled high on her head and made them glow as she stopped at the kitchen table and smiled shyly at Mark, a hot blush staining her face.
“Um, morning.”
To his credit, Mark didn’t say anything to Joy that might embarrass her. He gave her a small smile then lifted his chin toward the stove. “There’s pancakes and hash browns in there, if you’re hungry.”
“Famished.” She smiled then avoided even looking at me as she grabbed a plate from next to the stove and went to open the oven.
“Just to let you know…” Mark continued while Joy got her breakfast together and totally pretending I wasn’t here. “You can change that room however you want. My sister decorated it, so you won’t be hurting my feelings if you don’t want to live in a florist shop. I was overseas on business when she did it, so I came back to find that Laura Ashley nightmare.”
Laughing, Joy shook her head and gave Mark a wide smile that sent a prick of jealousy through me. “No, it’s fine. It’s very pretty…and pink. Besides, I’ll only be here for a few weeks until I can find a new place, so changing anything would be silly.”
“Stay as long as you want,” Mark said while ignoring the sharp look I sent him. “Seriously, I’m never home. When I am, there’s only Honey to talk to, so it gets lonely. I have to go hang out with Hannah and Leo if I want conversation that isn’t in dog.”
Joy grinned. “I’m a good roommate, I swear. Ask Hannah. I always clean up after myself, and if you have female company over and want your privacy, I know how to make myself scarce. I work weird hours, in addition to going to school, so we’ll be like two ships passing in the night.”
